Comments about pupil behaviour raised a more specific question about school boundaries. One teacher described a parent threatening to call Gardaí after a phone was confiscated. Other contributors raised Tusla, with sharply different views about whether parents or schools can use outside authorities unfairly. When a school sets a boundary,

Contributors described different aims for Irish: everyday conversation, reading and writing, cultural connection, literature and examination achievement. Those aims are not always the same. The next question is: What should success in Irish look like? Tell us which outcomes matter, and whose definition of success may be missing from the

A new national survey has given parents across Ireland an opportunity to say what type of primary school they would prefer. An Irish Times opinion article argues that the findings reveal a mismatch between what some communities want and the schools currently available to them. It raises wider questions about

The first discussion about school patronage produced very different predictions. Some contributors expected changes to boards of management, religion and school ethos. Others raised funding, parental choice, Irish-medium education and class sizes. But those answers often assumed different things about what patrons currently do and who would replace them. So

A recent post from @goodmorningmsfosterltd suggested giving “Star of the Week” a twist: choosing every child in turn and inviting their classmates to recognise their character, strengths and contribution. The responses revealed an interesting disagreement. Some teachers and parents saw an opportunity to ensure every child feels noticed, valued and

I was on South East Radio with John Moynihan this morning talking about the results of the Department of Education’s school survey. We talked a good bit about the results, which as most people know are that 40% of parents whose children are already in religious-run schools said they would

Some Back to School tips from me and a couple of principals. Thanks to Joanathan deBurca Butler for featuring my thoughts on what I’d love parents to know about going back to school this year. https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/parenting/arid-41897278.html

Personal experience matters, but a claim about pupil behaviour across schools also raises an evidence question. What would prove pupil behaviour has got worse? Would you look to incident records, exclusions, attendance, surveys, classroom observations, wellbeing data—or something else? What evidence could change your mind? #Unconvention #PupilBehaviour #Education